The Oil Spill

A good name is more precious than all the oil in the world.

If only the executives of BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, would have taken to heart the wise words of King Solomon in his book of Ecclesiastes.

Far better is a good name, Solomon cautioned, than good oil.

The English translation hardly does justice to the beautiful play on words in the original Hebrew. The three letter Hebrew word for oil, shemen, has its first two letters spell the word shem, Hebrew for name. Oil, shemen, has always been a precious and highly prized commodity. But its very descriptive is meant to remind us of the primacy of shem, our name and our reputation.

Oil can offer us wealth. Only our good name can endow us with worth.

Oil can offer us wealth. Only our good name can endow us with worth. Yet so very often people make the mistake of trading their greatest asset, their moral character which has earned them communal respect, for the temporary benefits of riches improperly acquired.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a catastrophe that President Obama has described as, “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.” It has been responsible for horrific death to sea life for hundreds of miles in its wake, destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and caused the closing of countless beaches normally enjoyed by vacationers and tourists. And the worst is far from over. The well has not yet been capped. Leaking oil continues to spew forth at an estimated 60,000 barrels a day, creating pollution whose long-term effects may well produce havoc for years to come.

Cleanup costs are estimated to be in the many billions of dollars and BP, held responsible for its negligence in allowing this to happen, is being talked of in some financial circles as a possible candidate for bankruptcy.

It is a veritable crisis almost beyond belief. And at a time such as this we should remind ourselves of the profound insight of Jawaharlal Nehru that “Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think.”

How could something like this have happened? And what is it that we can learn from this terrifying experience? To reflect on the true meaning of this story is to recognize that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a true morality tale that captures the fundamental flaw of human beings responsible for their downfall.

BP has many years of experience successfully bringing oil to the surface even from the very depths of the sea. They've always known what to do and how to do it correctly. But they were a little behind schedule on this particular oil rig. Engineers had warned them that cutting corners might very well cost them dearly. Standards of safety required more time. But the bottom line of greater profits beckoned seductively. We’ll lose a little money, they reasoned, if we will delay and do it the right way. So they chose the opportunity for possible greater monetary rewards over the procedures their own scientists told them were necessary. We will make more money now, they decided, and let the more difficult path of correct behavior be put off to some undetermined future.

Sound familiar?

There is a very famous story told by Leo Tolstoy meant to serve as an allegory of the tragedy of the human condition. It has parallels in midrashic tales and beautifully conveys the idea of Hillel in the Ethics of the Fathers, "And if not now, then when?”

A noblemen, goes the story, wished to reward one of his feudal serfs. He told him that he would bestow great blessing upon him. He would give him the gift of a large piece of land, the exact size of which would be determined by the serf himself. Next morning he would grant him the opportunity to arise early. From sunrise to sunset he could walk and encircle a parcel of land. Whatever he would succeed in walking around would be his. There would be only one condition: he would have to return exactly to the starting point or he would forfeit everything.

How grateful the serf was for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His plan to fulfill the requirements was simple. He would walk in one direction until the sun was directly overhead. Then, knowing it was noon and obviously that half his time had elapsed, he would begin his return journey. In that way he could be certain to be back at the starting point by sunset. That would give him a great parcel of land that would allow him and his family to be rich beyond his wildest dreams.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I will help you. Today I do not have the time."

But when noon arrived he couldn't bear the thought that this would mark the end of his opportunity for acquiring additional land. If he would only go a little further and then hasten his steps on the return journey he could become so much richer. And so he put off what he knew he should do. On his trek to accumulate his fortune there were people who stopped him for various urgent reasons. To each one he responded, "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will help you. Today I do not have the time." Even when he was told that his own son was hurt and needed him desperately, his answer was the same: "Tell my son that tomorrow I'll have time to spend with them. Tell him that today I'm too busy making my fortune."

Suddenly he realized that he had gone too far in one direction to readily make it back to the starting point. Now he would have to run. It became a race between the sun on the horizon and his frantic footsteps to reach his goal. Faster and faster and faster still he ran. His heart beat quicker, his legs felt as if they were caving beneath him. The sun had almost disappeared. The master was in the distance waiting at the prearranged spot. With one final lunge, the serf leaped to the required spot almost at the very last second, legally fulfilling the condition set upon him. He smiled the smile of the victor. But the smile froze on his face in a death mask as his soul departed, a result of the extreme exertion.

"Take this peasant and bury him in a plot six feet long, two feet wide," commanded the master. "Let him lie there. Let the land be his. That is all the ground he really ever needed."

Tolstoy called this story the race of life. It beautifully captures the foolishness of Everyman who pushes off the things he knows he ideally should do in his haste to acquire ever much more.

How remarkable that this quest for greater and greater riches without regard to the consequences could even define a corporation already in possession of billions of dollars. BP reasoned that it couldn't afford the loss of a few days of oil well production just for some safety precautions. And so they cut corners. They took unwarranted risk for the sake of what they expected to be greater immediate returns.

And the ultimate lesson? They ended up losing not only a considerable portion of what they already had but the one possession that is truly irreplaceable. Their reputation is now in tatters. Their good name is today a thing of the past. If only they would have lived by the credo of King Solomon that a good name is more precious than all the oil in the world.

The message may be too late for BP, but we can strive to incorporate it in our own lives.

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About the Author

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a frequent contributor to Aish, is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, and lecturer. Author of 14 highly acclaimed books with combined sales of over a half million copies, his newest, The World From A Spiritual Perspective, is a collection of over 100 of his best Aish articles. See his website at www.benjaminblech.com.

Visitor Comments: 11

Greed is what caused this mess; not only with BP , but with corporations all over; ex: Toyota; Acura; Nissan; all rushing
to turn out products without thinking the classic what if.

(10)
Anonymous,
June 29, 2010 5:24 PM

Cursory BP history

William Knox D'Arcy, British chap, started drilling oil in Iran over a hundred years ago- that was the beginning of BP. He bribed the Iranian government. The deal was to pay the Iranians 16% of royalties on any oil he found. This was in 1908. He was the only one allowed to drill. British government got involved and named it Anglo-Persian Oil Co. Up until 1950 the British standard of life was supported through this theft of oil.
After WW2, nationalism started to take over and Iranians wanted a bigger share of the pie. When the British heard that the Iranians wanted more money they shut Iran off (trade embargo). Iranians only got more resolute. So the British got some help from the Americans: please overthrow the government in Iran so that we can have our oil back. It was easy to do: replace one leader with another. The new leader was Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi. It was called Operation Ajax. This ended so called democracy in Iran. The Shah regime was brutal and eventually it brought in the Ayatollah Khomeini.
In the meantime, British Petroleum, went to BP Amoco and the finally in 2000 to BP. While in Iran it had as little regard as it still has in another Gulf- Gulf of Mexico.
One has to wonder if BP really is not the enemy of Israel. One cannot but think that a democratic Iran would have behaved quite differently than the one ruled by religious zealots. BP made it all happen.
As an aside, I often wonder how is it that a corporation can be defined as a person and yet not face the same penalties? Here you have a person (BP) which has killed thousands of creatures and I have yet to see the punishment exacted. Let us begin with pressing charges.

(9)
Anonymous,
June 29, 2010 12:06 PM

the author didnt mention that 11 people died when the rig exploded

lets not forget to mention those who perished. people keep talking about the pelicans but why does everyone forget the people?

(8)
Beverly Kurtin,
June 29, 2010 5:07 AM

BP = Bad People

BP has a long history of neglecting safety for the sake of making a few more bucks. Someone needs to be brought up on MURDER charges for killing those 11 men who were slaughtered in BP's quest for more and more money.
The BP Chairman whined that he wanted to get his life back. I'm certain that the widows and orphans of the men who were killed in BP's rush to greed would like to have THEIR husbands and daddys lives back.
The entire mess could have been prevented had they held off the project for another 45 minutes according to one of the survivors of the explosion. FOURTY-FIVE MINUTES would have cost BP some money.
I do not urge people to boycott their local BP dealers because they're just small business owners and I believe it would be unethical to punish them and their families by not dealing with them. But BP as a whole? Oh you betcha.
There are only two kinds of oil producers: Liars and Liars.

(7)
Anonymous,
June 29, 2010 1:34 AM

I BP has lost more than oil and money. It has lost the respect of all and makes one think so much haste and greed is going on. we and the environment are the ones to suffer The concept of waste, negligence and greed to earn a profit and make riches will always continue to the end of our days.

(6)
Debora,
June 28, 2010 9:29 AM

Solution for pollution

"SpillFighters" offer simple yet effective solution; oil eating microbes, there is also video that demonstrates its efficiency.
They claim that oil eating bacteria could clean up Gulf of Mexico in 6 weeks.

(5)
Anonymous,
June 28, 2010 4:48 AM

Thank you so much. It is so important to make an unfortunately tragic event into something valuable by learning a lesson from it for our own lives from it. Thank you for enabling us to do so.

(4)
David S. Levine,
June 28, 2010 1:05 AM

Blew Up In Their Face

For five years now BP has been telling us that they are moving "beyond petroleum." In fact they made us think that that's what BP stood for.
Instead of concentrating on what they did best BP went on a chase for love among those who hate them, AND IT BLEW UP IN THEIR FACE.
They are an oil exploration, drilling and refining company. Their mission is to provide energy at the lowest possible cost to themselves and their customers in a competitive free market. It's time they did so!

(3)
Joseph W.,
June 28, 2010 12:08 AM

BP and Deep Water Drilling

I am no fan of oil companies per se, however your conclusion I believe is a bit political. I think that instead of shallow water drilling, BP and others have been forced to drill in deep water to avoid environmentalist pressure. So the next time we look at this gusher from 1 mile deep, we should say...could we have let them drill in Alaska or shallow water as in the 70's. What now. Force them to drill further out in 10,000 feet and we will shout...look what happened the last time you drilled at 5000 feet.

(2)
ruth housman,
June 27, 2010 8:47 PM

how close is Shem to SHAME?

Thank you for a rare article in Aish.com about the environment.
I deeply believe we need to be sensitive to the needs of the environment, and that it was our sacred duty to take care of all creation, creatures big and small, and all that lives within. Adam of course was responsible for naming everything and I do believe there is a deep, deep reason for all the begats in the Bible and the attention to "names".
Perhaps there is something more to be learned, and that is, what animates, what is soul, anima itself is contained by the word "animal".
It's not just BP who is at fault here. We are not paying attention to the signs on the wall. There is a growing GULF between those who voice their concerns and passion for what we're doing that is devastating to our environment and those who look only to profit. As profit is aurally to prophet, I can see, we are losing more than we ever could possibly have imagined. Whales are found to have concentrations of heavy metals that are toxic. The ocean, our saltwater, home to an ecological world we depend on, and also love, those who do love, well, we are toxifying this environment.
In "wilderness is the preservation of the world" (Thoreau).
We are not being thorough enough in examining this particular devastation, and it's not just about BP but about us all. Before it was EXON, and who should we finally "exxonerate" for what's happening?
Again, thank you because there are so few articles on these subjects on Aish.

(1)
Tova Saul,
June 27, 2010 4:11 PM

Thank you

Thank you to Rabbi Blech and to Aish haTorah for using a tradionanl Jewish website to express deep sorrow and horror over this crime against Hashem, His planet, His creatures who are at all times at our mercy, and against humanity..

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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